Gumshoe's Decision
by Puss In Heels
Summary: When Gumshoe discovers a certain note left in Edgeworth's office, Gumshoe races to find the prosecutor before he does something drastic. Oneshot. Gumshoe/Edgey friendship fic.


So…being sick on a weekend gives you a lot of time to lay in bed with your laptop with nothing to do but write. This is the product of a miserable day well spent. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ace Attorney series or any of its characters.

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"Mr. Edgeworth, sir?"

Detective Gumshoe bumbled into the high prosecutor's office, his hands full of paperwork that needed the high prosecutor's signature. He pushed open the door and dropped the mass of files onto the couch, only to realize that the prosecutor was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a strange man carrying a tray of tea in one hand and an envelope in the other.

"Hey, pal, what do you think you're doing? This is Prosecutor Edgeworth's office!"

"Ah…excuse me. I was bringing afternoon tea, and I found this on Mr. Edgeworth's desk…"

The detective stopped and looked at the bizarre bellboy.

"Did you read it, pal?" Gumshoe asked quietly. The bellboy shook his head.

"No…it's rude to read other people's mail, sir."

"Well…put it back on the desk and get lost, pal!"

The bellboy bowed, dropping the envelope, and left the office. The detective made sure the bellboy was gone before walking over to the desk and picking up the same envelope.

It was a plain white envelope without a single scrap of writing. It hadn't been sealed, and Gumshoe considered the repercussions of opening such in envelope in the Edgeworth's office. If it turned out to be something personal for Mr. Edgeworth, his salary would be cut to the point of having to pay to come to work. But if it was a note Edgeworth left for him, then NOT opening the letter would have the same result. Gumshoe sighed and removed the note from the non-descript envelope.

The first thing Gumshoe noticed was the handwriting. It was very clearly Edgeworth's very neat and elegant scrawl, perfectly in the center of the page. Gumshoe smiled at the prosecutor's standards when he read the note. The words he was reading made Gumshoe's heart stop dead in his tracks.

_Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death._

Gumshoe kept staring at the paper, his eyes reading and rereading the elegant writing. There had to be some other meaning to this. There's no way that Prosecutor Edgeworth could be…

Gumshoe swallowed hard and tried to think. Thinking wasn't his strong suit, but with Mr. Edgeworth involved, he had to focus to the best of his ability. Where would Edgeworth go?

First, Gumshoe pulled out his cell phone and called the missing prosecutor, not expecting an answer, but praying for one nonetheless. The phone rang several times before hitting the automated voice mail machine. He didn't bother leaving a message.

Then he thought about where Edgeworth could have gone. He last saw him after the Skye trial, but Gumshoe couldn't stick around for long – he had gone back to the precinct to get officially reinstated to the force. Gumshoe began to mutter to himself.

"Maybe…maybe that lawyer knows where he might have gone…" Gumshoe whispered hopefully, whipping out his cell phone again, calling the Wright and Co. Law Office.

Once again, the phone went to voicemail. Gumshoe was greeted with Maya Fey's chipper voice.

"You've reached the Wright and Co. Law Offices. This is his lovely assistant Maya Fey! I'm sorry, but we cannot take your call right now. Please leave a message, and I'll get back to you!"

Gumshoe hung up the phone and swore, which was rare for the detective. Maya was in Kurain, and Phoenix had been working with that girl Ema…he couldn't figure out who else he could contact.

He decided to take the old fashioned approach – detective work. He looked around the office for evidence, but other than the note, there was nothing out of the ordinary. All of Edgeworth's files were intact on the bookshelf. All of his steel samurai figurines were in their proper place. There was no sign that the prosecutor had packed anything away – the King of Prosecutors trophy was still on the sofa – Edgeworth hadn't even bothered to find a place for it on a bookshelf or windowsill.

Gumshoe left the paperwork in the office, taking the note with him. He got in his broken-down car and drove to Mr. Edgeworth's apartment. The shabby detective drew lots of wary looks in the fancy complex because someone of his stature looked completely out of place. Gumshoe walked up the stairs to Edgeworth's apartment and knocked. No answer. Gumshoe didn't have a warrant, but he did have reason to believe Edgeworth was in immediate danger. The detective pulled his gun – something he only had to do once before. Recalling how cool he felt saving Phoenix and Maya from those thugs at Global Studios, he realized that he didn't feel cool now. He was absolutely terrified of what he would find in that apartment. Swallowing hard, he kicked open the door.

The apartment was…perfectly neat. Not a trace of a mess – not even an empty coffee cup in sight. After a quick sweep of the place, Gumshoe holstered his gun and looked around. The place was too neat. It was as if Edgeworth knew he wouldn't be coming back any time soon. Gumshoe resisted the urge to think the prosecutor who cleared his name would never be coming back as he walked through the apartment. Gumshoe noticed one thing in Edgeworth's study – a computer.

The detective did have a knack for electronics, despite his many other flaws. Gumshoe quickly hacked into the computer (the password was SteelSamurai) and found Edgeworth's latest browser history. Edgeworth had been looking at the iFly website; specifically, he'd been looking a flight to Borginia. Gumshoe scrolled down to find the departure time. It wasn't until tomorrow morning.

Gumshoe began to think harder than he ever had before. If Edgeworth was looking at flights, he probably wasn't dead. Gumshoe let out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. He still hadn't figured out where the prosecutor had disappeared to, and he was looking at those websites a few days ago. Maybe Edgeworth really did choose death…

Gumshoe shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. Mr. Edgeworth lives! Gumshoe racked his brain hard. Where on earth would Edgeworth go? And then it clicked. Gumshoe raced out of the apartment and down to his car. He sped through traffic towards Gourd Lake.

When he got to the lake, Gumshoe took off in a fast sprint. Hopefully, Edgeworth wouldn't do anything drastic. The last time Edgeworth went to the lake in the middle of the night, someone was killed. He prayed Edgeworth wouldn't be the victim on this particular dark night.

Gumshoe ran through the park until stopping at the water's edge. He saw Edgeworth, sitting by himself, staring at the water. Gumshoe hurried towards him.

"Mr. Edgeworth, SIR! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Edgeworth turned around, looking utterly shocked at the detective's presence.

"D-Detective…what on earth are you doing here? How did you know where I was?" Edgeworth gasped, still totally surprised that he'd been found. After catching his breath, Gumshoe grinned.

"You…I knew you'd go where no one would expect to find you. If you didn't want to be found…going to the place where you got arrested…I thought you'd do that. And I was right."

Edgeworth stared.

"That logic makes no sense, Detective…"

"And yet, I found you. I just prayed you hadn't drowned yourself…" Gumshoe trailed off.

"Gumshoe! If I didn't want to be found, why the heck did you follow me here!" Edgeworth asked angrily. "I'll have your salary cut in half!"

"Sorry, PAL! But a dead prosecutor can't do that! I was worried about you!"

It was the first time Detective Gumshoe had ever shouted at Edgeworth. The prosecutor was so shocked that he lost his words. Gumshoe turned sheepish, but kept asking questions.

"Prosecutor Edgeworth…what's going on?"

Edgeworth sighed before talking.

"Detective…I need to find an answer to one seemingly simple question. What does it mean to prosecute?"

The detective looked utterly confused.

"Well…duh…to get the bad guys found guilty!"

"And yet…when they are, in fact, not guilty, what is our job?"

"Uh…"

"I need to leave. I need to find some way to answer that question away from the courtroom. Being in the defendant's chair…then getting caught up in that Lana Skye affair…I'm questioning things, Gumshoe. I'm questioning everything my mentor told me to be true…"

Gumshoe could only nod. He didn't really understand the finer points of Edgeworth's emotions, but he understood that he needed a friend.

"Sir…so when you said you choose death…"

"I simply didn't want anyone looking for me…or questioning me about my motivations. Everything's…been turned upside-down. I do know one thing. The 'demon prosecutor' has chosen death."

Gumshoe slowly nodded. He had made up his mind. He knew what he had to do for Prosecutor Edgeworth's sake.

"Sir…I'll help you. What do you need me to do?"

Gumshoe waited for Edgeworth to brush him aside. He expected the prosecutor to scold him, threatening his paycheck some more. But Edgeworth turned to him and looked him straight in the eye.

"Detective…I need you to put that note you're holding back in my office. And I need you to convince everyone that…it's true."

"What?"

"Please, Detective Gumshoe. Please…Dick…make sure no one looks for me."

Gumshoe nodded at the mention of his first name.

"Sir…if that's what you need me to do…I'll do it."

"You can't tell anyone. Especially Phoenix Wright. Do you understand?"

"I understand, sir."

Edgeworth pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down a number.

"Detective…you're the only person with this new cell phone number. When I'm ready to come back…you'll be the first one I call."

Gumshoe took it and put it in his pocket. Before he turned to leave, Gumshoe had an idea. Before Edgeworth could sit back down, Gumshoe grabbed him and gave him a bear hug. Edgeworth was taken aback, looking quite shaken after he was released.

"D-Detective? Wh-what was that?"

"Goodbye, Mr. Edgeworth. I hope you find your answer."

With that, the detective turned and walked away, leaving Edgeworth alone on the edge of Gourd Lake.

()()()()()

"Detective Gumshoe! Where's Edgeworth? What are all these cops doing here!"

"Mr. Wright…I…there was a note on his desk…pal, you may not want to look."

"Give it to me, Gumshoe!"

In the middle of the swarmed prosecutor's office, the detective handed the frazzled defense attorney the note. He watched as Wright's read the note, shaking considerably.

"He…he couldn't…he…"

"We didn't find him, pal. He's probably…"

"He can't. After everything we did…he can't just…"

Gumshoe couldn't bear to look at Wright's angry tears. The detective walked back to the scene, looking at the sky. He whispered to himself, hoping the missing prosecutor would hear him.

"It better be a damned good answer you find, pal."

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I hoped you liked this. It was a scenario I always wanted to write. As always, please review!


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